Hot Pod acquired by The Verge — Nick Quah hands off authorship, joins Vulture

Weekly podcast business newsletter Hot Pod has been acquired by digital culture publication The Verge. No financials are disclosed in the announcement sent by parent company Vox Media. Hot Pod founder and chief writer Nick Quah shifts to other Vox Media publications, and one of The Verge’s senior writers takes control of Hot Pod. Continue Reading

Spotify offers subscription publishing to all U.S. podcasters, in direct competition with Apple

Bringing an end to a testing period begun in April, Spotify now allows any U.S. podcaster to offer a subscription feed to listeners. It’s the latest benchmark in a growing trend of pay-to-listen in podcasting, where consumers can buy into a monthly fee for membership benefits that include ad-free listening, bonus exclusive episodes, and other attractions. Click for details. Continue Reading